AYB Reviews: Simple Spy — Bland… James Bland (PC)

Saturday, 30 July 2016 09:00

Written by dandr0id

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Normally, when someone mentions a game with the words 2D, platform, or spy in it, it will pique my interest. Unfortunately, all of those ideas combined cannot save this game from being a bland stroll through an oddly over-secure industrial complex. Simple Spy isn’t just simple, it’s basic.

BASELine – Raw Data

Tuesday, 26 July 2016 14:00

Written by dandr0id

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If I’ve learned anything from the first couple of months with my HTC Vive it’s that gunfire and VR go together like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. But what if you threw in some killer robots, a sassy AI, laser swords, and a whole lot of high tension action? You’d have one of the tastiest sandwiches ever! Only that sandwich is known as Raw Data.

Raw Data by developer Survios has already made its mark by topping the Steam charts for July sales and it’s only just getting started. Even though the game is only in early access, it already looks and feels better than a lot of complete games that have been available on the market for months, so let’s start there.

Upon starting the game, you will notice the polish that has already gone into the game. There are no generic floating fonts or cookie cutter graphics here. Raw Data has a fully modeled environment housing Interactive menus so you can get a feel for movement and controls without diving head first into the missions.Granted, their menus could use a little retooling to improve navigation and clarify what exactly you are trying to do. I spent a good five minutes trying to activate a training mission and I accidentally started the first mission instead. I then realized after I completed the first mission that the training areas were

Granted, their menus could use a little retooling to improve navigation and clarify what exactly you are trying to do. I spent a good five minutes trying to activate a training mission and I accidentally started the first mission instead. I then realized after I completed the first mission that the training areas were actually to the left and right of the starting area. As with many VR games, physical navigation uses blink movement which helps to alleviate motion sickness by teleporting point to point through the environment. They have put in a very quick blur movement to make it feel like you’re dashing from point to point but I hope they allow users to turn this off as it could still lead to motion sickness if played for extended periods of time, especially for the amount that you need to move in this game.

Movement aside, one of the best feeling actions in the game is shooting and reloading. The character you start the game with has a single handgun and it is reloaded by grabbing a clip off of your belt and moving it towards the gun which triggers a reloading animation. Also, while firing, you can stabilize your firing hand by holding your other hand under it like firing a real gun, but I have yet to figure out if this actually improves accuracy or just physically feels more stable.

Now, unfortunately, the gun play is not all sunshine and puppy dogs because the game doesn’t scale nicely with the fact that you’re using a tiny pistol with a 15 shot clip and manual reloads. If you want an accurate feeling of what it would be like to be in the middle of the final scene of “I Robot” holding a pistol, this would be it. When you are standing in the middle of the stage and the normal robots are coming towards you in pairs it’s not too bad, you pop some head shots and smirk because you feel like a bad ass.

The problem is even in the first level; things get so hectic that you will constantly be scrambling for a clip to reload that won’t appear, you’ll accidentally keep swapping which hand your gun is in and sometimes you even accidentally holster your gun while you’re frantically trying to shoot at an ever increasing number of robots. The issue is that they have mapped the pinch buttons on the Vive control to grip everything so holding the gun near you other hand and pressing those buttons will switch hands. And when you’re moving and crouching while trying to grab at something on your virtual belt, half the time the game doesn’t know you’re going for a clip which leaves you completely vulnerable especially with your gun only carrying 15 shots at a time.

Fortunately later in the game they do unlock the ability to bump your gun on your hip to auto reload it because they also unlock the ability to carry a second pistol. With the difficulty and chaos of the first couple levels, I feel like these should be unlocked from the start and maybe have an upgrade system in place to increase their firing rate and damage output instead of just artificially making the game harder by locking away the abilities and equipment that the character should have from the start of the game.

Now, with all that being said, the game is still in early access and I’m certain that they will attempt to balance out the controls and gameplay so it won’t be so ridiculously hard. But even with those issues, the game is still an absolute blast to play. The shooting feels solid and is oh so satisfying to ring a few headshots in a row. The environment and robot design is on point, and the immersion is second to none of all the Vive games I’ve played.

Raw Data is currently on 20% discount on steam until August 2nd and you can pick it up for $35.19 and it is absolutely worth it and I cannot wait to see where the game goes from here.

Dandr0id is a content writer for AYBOnline.com, a producer for the Level 1 Scrubs podcast, and an avid fan of pizza. He may also be a robot and is probably a ninja. His opinions are his own.

The Weekly Nerd Reviews – Ghostbusters 2016: Enjoyable but Lacking

Tuesday, 19 July 2016 09:43

Written by Nedu Ejeckam

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Welcome back to the Weekly Nerd! Here I am going to talk about all manner of pop culture nerdishness goodness. Whether it is movies, TV shows, comics or anything nerd adjacent. To kick things off, I will talk about the 2016 Ghostbusters Movie! Let’s dive in!

Ghostbusters means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. Whether your connection to the franchise is the original 1984 film, The Real Ghostbusters cartoon or even the surprisingly good Ghostbusters game from 2009, this series has continued to live on in the cultural consciousness for decades.

So how is this movie in general? Unsurprisingly, the film is just okay. I will admit I did enjoy myself at many times throughout the film. There were a lot of great character moments and some genuinely good humour. The movie’s main issues are its incredibly generic villain and pacing.

Let’s break it down, shall we? The Ghostbusters are all women in this movie. Gasp. The movie is quite aware of the fact that there is a lot of vitriol on the internet. Because of this, there is a bit of meta-commentary within the film itself. Most of the jokes about this are not very good and took me out of the movie. Normally I am quite into meta humour but in this context, it felt reactionary and did not mesh well into the movie.

Funny People

By far, my favorite part of this movie is the cast. The movie is full of hilarious and talented people. Even when some jokes don’t land, the actors themselves do what they can with what they are given. Save for one necessary cameo, everyone seems committed to their role.

The four main characters are easily the best part of the movie. Watching these women interact and joke with each other was so engrossing because of their undeniable chemistry. I truly believed that these characters were friends running around Manhattan and having conversations. Wigg, McCarthy, McKinnon and Jones each bring a unique energy and wit to their roles. The only one of them that seemed a bit off was McKinnon’s Jillian Holtzmann, who seemed like she was legitimately insane. Her character is so heightened, it almost feels like she is in a different movie at times. Also, she looks exactly like Egon Spengler from The Real Ghostbusters cartoon, which is kind of amazing.

Even the secondary characters feel like they have a lot of personality. From Hemsworth’s dumber-than-bricks receptionist or Zach Woods hapless tour guide, the various actors seem to fit well into this world.

Busting Looks Good… Most of the Time.

The special effects are pretty cool too. The look of the beams from the proton guns and the various other ghost busting tools are quite well done and integrated well.The ghosts at the beginning of the movie looked very cool and quite creepy. When there are one or two of these specters on screen, they have interesting details. Their clothing is well defined, but you can see an outline of their glowing skeletons.

On to the Not so Good…

This movie is fun, but there are some major issues that push into the “just okay” category.

While some of the jokes land, many of them just fall flat. Again, it seems that the actors carry their roles well, but there are some jokes that just don’t work, or feel very shoehorned in. Sadly, a lof of the references and cameos just felt forced. This is a shame because these things are much more noticeable for fans of the original movie and can also lead to a lot of frustration. The “cute nods” are more like insufferable pokes. It is almost like the movie is trying to tell the viewers that it has seen the original film by throwing in awkward references that don’t always fit.

The villain is also an incredibly low point. He is a very generic antagonist who seems to have an ill-defined reason for pursuing his goals. This is not only disappointing but feels like a very missed opportunity. The writers had a chance to draw a connection between him and the heroes due to a well-developed plot point but was only relegated to a throwaway line.

The pacing feels off in this movie as well. While the first two acts of the film move at a good pace, the setup for the third act is clunky. There is some unnecessary tension in cliched scenes that felt contrived. They only managed to bog down the movie and slow the lead up to the final confrontation.

The third act also had a wholly unneeded action scene. This scene really drew the whole movie to a screeching halt. There was no instance of moving the plot forward and there were also little to no jokes here. This is a shame because it felt out of place in a movie that generally felt cohesive. The action itself was not overly impressive, with liberal use of slow motion and a lot of waves of ghosts. The special effects for the interesting ghouls from earlier gets lost in a mess of CG baddies who lack the incredible detail we were treated to earlier.

Verdict: Check it Out! But Maybe Not in Theaters…

It goes without saying that this movie pales in comparison the original 1984 film. Honestly, I think this movie’s biggest sin is mediocrity. There were many times throughout watching this film I felt this movie could go a step further with a joke, or would draw back with the length of a scene. Having said that I did enjoy my time with this film. The main protagonists were easily the best part of Ghostbusters.

If you have any interest, I would recommend waiting for a Netflix release but this movie is not good enough to merit a theatrical viewing. I feel this movie was fun while it lasted, but does not have the staying power of its predecessor. Much like Robocop and Total Recall before it, this is another remake that has little impact. Unlike those movies, Ghostbusters has some real heart behind its characters and the performance they deliver.

Nedu is a writer for AYBOnline and he ain’t afraid of no ghosts. His views are his own.

Should you go to RTX?

Friday, 15 July 2016 22:00

Written by Orion

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You may be asking, Should I go to RTX? or even, what IS RTX?

Well my little famburgers, by the end of this I hope to answer both those questions for you, allow me to take you on a con drive and build your excitement for July 2017.

AYB Reviews: Mushroom Wars – Simple Fun In Short Bursts

Wednesday, 13 July 2016 10:00

Written by Nedu Ejeckam

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Mushroom Wars is an RTS game that has been released on several platforms, and now it has finally made its way to PC. Mushroom Wars certainly has its charm, but I found my interest in the game ebbing and flowing. Ultimately the PC version of the game is fun, but it is not for me.

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